I just want to share that as I am writing this story I came to realize that (maybe) I am writing this based on experience. I am not pertaining to being gay or what (because I am not gay), but the fact that most of the people nowadays, especially the youth, seem to seek "entitlement". Mind you, I'm not generalizing the "youth", I just observed (especially from the people my age around me) that we seem to find a common ground with the others, and are afraid of being different. I am wondering if we are actually afraid of being alone or being left out, and I think that that's why we are being someone else we are not. Like how the characters in this story give labels like "homo" or "popular". Anyway, this is one of my daily rambles shared out of seeking some actual answers. It's your choice to ignore this, but please don't hate me if I am wrong or if I contradict your belief. This is just a pure observation (and maybe a processing thought) and I am just curious. Sorry for the inconvenience (if there's any). Thank you for reading this story!

Wonwoo finishes the script in just one night. His fast pace means that he's excited for the play. Inferno is one of the first stories he read and he became attached to it, thus, he can't wait to adapt the piece in a way that people may also enjoy it the way he did. He knows that classical literature can be literally boring for many people, that's why he wanted to present the story in a much unique way. But he realizes that his classmates hate him, and he has no idea in how can he hand his work (or you can say suggestion) to them. He also knows that no one is as enthusiastic as he is about the activity.

The following day, Wonwoo goes to the drama class an hour earlier. He printed 30 copies of the script that he wrote and planned to put these copies on each desk. In that way, he won't be scared to present the script to his classmates.

Surely, Wonwoo succeeded in distributing the script without anyone knowing. But of course, no one can expect for things to go smoothly.

"Who wrote this script without my permission?" The arrogant overall director asked when everyone is gathered inside the room. Just because he is given the title of being the general leader, his head became full of air and can definitely not accept that someone is working out of his jurisdiction.

On the other hand, Wonwoo is worried that the script will be discarded and the preparation will be back to square one (and of course, he cannot let someone just waste his effort), so he raises his hand hesitantly.

The student director's expression darkened, and sends a withering glare to the dark-haired boy. "Who do you think you are, Jeon Wonwoo?” The student says Wonwoo’s name with disgust and hatred, like it is a taboo. “You don't expect us to follow this ty script, do you? Do not think that just because you're the protagonist, you're also going to be bossy."

Wonwoo tried to defend his self, but to no avail. "It's not what I want to—"

"Shut up, you disgusting homo," Wonwoo winced at the name. "You'll forever be an outcast. You cannot have a say in this even if you are the teacher’s pet. We're never using this work of yours. It might contain your ing homouality."

Wonwoo’s heart shrank, losing his confidence because he doesn’t know how can he argue against the director’s remarks, when his classmates refuse to properly read the script. The student director was about to rip the script but was stopped by Mingyu's voice.

"I think the script is fine." Everyone looked at Mingyu like he grew two heads. "If I'm being honest, it is nice, contrary to what you expect. Wonwoo made an alternative world without losing the context of the original story. I think it will be great if we will portray the story in his perspective. I assure you, the play's going to be interesting in this way." Mingyu said in a calm manner.

Everyone was silent, disbelief present in their faces. They can't believe that Mingyu is actually defending Wonwoo. On the other hand, Wonwoo is relieved and internally thanked Mingyu for what he did.

"Oh," Mingyu suddenly exclaimed, as if he forgot one thing, then faced the director. "If you're curious, there's definitely no homouality evident in the script. Also, if we're not using this, are you going to make a new script for us, director?"

The said student is taken aback and just lowered his head in shame.

Mingyu continued talking, suddenly feeling confident of leading the class. Maybe his desperation to finish the play is taking over him. "Okay! The casts should immediately read this and familiarize themselves with their scenes. We're going to have a line rehearsal tomorrow. Those who are not going to act, read the script too and take note of the needed props and stage setup."

One student raised their hand and Mingyu thought that they will protest. But surprisingly, that student asked a question concerning the project. "How about the Virgil? He's one of the main characters too."

Mingyu just smiled. "I'll be Virgil."

The drama students are sincerely surprised, but they didn't raise any other question. Frankly, they are kind of relieved that their preparations are finally seeing the light.

The class was dismissed and in a flash, the room became nearly empty. Wonwoo packs his belongings and trudges along the silent hallway. As he walks towards the lockers, he heard two people talking.

"—been hearing things, Mingyu. Like how you defended Wonwoo in that class. Why did you do that? Are you ing out of your mind?" Seungcheol angrily exclaimed.

Wonwoo froze. He did not anticipate that Seungcheol and Mingyu will be talking about him. He double takes, not knowing if he should go away or if he should eavesdrop. Curiosity reigned Wonwoo, so in the end, he decided to stay to overhear their conversation.

"Are you gay too, huh?"

Mingyu lets out an exasperated sigh with a mix of a fake gag. "Hyung, I'm not gay. I'm just need Wonwoo so I can successfully pass English. You know that I have to pass, or else I'm going to die in shame."

Seungcheol thinks for a bit before letting out a deflated breath. "Fine— sorry."

Wonwoo can say that he's disappointed but not surprised. It's never foreign for people to only approach him when they need something. Mingyu is definitely not an exception. But because of this, Wonwoo became more convinced that no one, besides Hansol and Jeonghan, will want to befriend someone like him.

Wonwoo walks away, feeling solemn and upset. But he’s knows that he can't blame anybody, because he believes that his self voluntarily eavesdropped and chose to be hurt.

The next few days were busy. The preparation for the drama project pushed through, memorizing lines, finalizing scenes and making props and set-ups, which involve social interaction that made Wonwoo emotionally and mentally exhausted. It is Saturday and the dark-haired boy really wanted to sleep until late afternoon but Wonwoo's deep slumber was cut short when Jeonghan suddenly jumped on his bed, making his head dizzy from the abrupt motion. Wonwoo grumbles and complains, because it is just freaking 6 in the morning.

"Wonwoo, wake up! Wake up!" Jeonghan screamed, like a never-ending alarm. Wonwoo discovered a few years ago that nothing can stop Jeonghan from waking him up. He knows too well that if he chose to ignore Jeonghan, the situation will actually get worse (it is better to not ask further questions). Jeonghan actually loves rest, and this situation rarely happens, giving Wonwoo not enough experience to deduce how can he make Jeonghan to shut up. So, he just surrenders, blinking away his remaining sleepiness.

"Why are you so hyperactive early in the morning?" Wonwoo whines in groggy voice.

Jeonghan just chuckled at him. "Get up, sleepyhead. Hansol's dressing up already. You need to fix yourself fast."

By the way, Wonwoo, Hansol and Jeonghan shares an apartment unit. They've been splitting bills for ages, because they are broke high school kids who can't afford an individual (and private) room. They are separated from their families at an early age, but they manage to spend time with them in any way during their free days. Despite being quite crowded inside the place, they like the setup because they became more attached to each other and can easily comfort one another during the low times. The three of them believe that this closure is doing good on their state—either physically or mentally.

"Why? Are we going somewhere?"

"Yeah, we're going shopping!" Jeonghan excitedly stated.

Wonwoo's mind is still not fully intact, so he had no chance to speculate that they will shop for clothes, specifically formal outfits. When they arrived at the shop, Wonwoo realized that Jeonghan plans to make them come to the student’s ball. The dark-haired boy immediately backs out.

"Hyung, you can't expect me to go to that ball!"

"But Wonwoo, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Experience is the best teacher." Jeonghan smugly stated with a roll of eyes.

"How dare you use that quote on me?"

While the two are pointlessly bickering, Hansol just wants to get through with this. So, he drags Jeonghan and Wonwoo inside the clothing store, wasting no more minute.

"Come on, let's do this fast."

For the next few hours, Wonwoo is continuously dressed up by Jeonghan. He experiments the clothes on Wonwoo's body, pulling out an infinite number of suits and ties, which just look the same in Wonwoo's eyes. He doesn't get satisfied easily, making the dark-haired boy exhausted from being like a mannequin who needs to be redressed every single time.

After a very long while, they finally went out of the store. Jeonghan is, no doubt, too excited about the ball. On the contrary, Hansol managed to maintain his expressionless face.

Meanwhile, Wonwoo is tensed. He is afraid because it's his first social gathering in the campus that he will attend. Also, he can't stop but wonder if people are just going to mock him again, making him lose his remaining confidence. He can definitely not handle that again because he already had too much in the past years. The main reason why Wonwoo doesn't want to go to social events is because he feels exposed in the eyes of such judgmental people.

He just silently hopes that the ball will occur peacefully (which is quite unlikely.)

Wonwoo claims that he is an introvert, that's why a few hours before the students' ball he is having second thoughts and probably a mental breakdown.

"Hyung, can we just stay in the house? I can't see the reason why we need to go to the ball when we don't even have dates." Wonwoo complains as Jeonghan fixes his hair.

Jeonghan rolls his eyes. "You need to socialize, Wonwoo." He says like socializing is the easiest thing in the world, given that they are treated like outcasts. "Also, the three of us can just date each other."

"Ew. No offense, but no thanks." Hansol suddenly butts in.

"Hansol, you ungrateful brat!"

After a while, Jeonghan finishes and inspects Wonwoo from head to toe. Wonwoo is in an elegant black tuxedo and formal pants. Wonwoo's dark hair is side parted, and he's not wearing his usual thin-rimmed glasses, instead, he's wearing blue contact lens that has enough moisture because Wonwoo has dry eye syndrome. He also wears a pair of silver earring that accentuates with the elegant silver necklace dangling on his neck.

"Wonwoo, you look damn attractive!" The long-haired boy eagerly exclaims.

"Language." The Caucasian chimes in.

Jeonghan just ignores Hansol. "I will definitely be head over heels for you if I'm not gay for somebody else."

It takes a few seconds for Jeonghan to realized that he had a slip of tongue. His palms immediately slap his mouth, making it more obvious for Wonwoo and Hansol that he did not intend to say those words.

"You're in love with someone?" Wonwoo asks enthusiastically. He likes it when he discovers a new secret of his friends, because it seems that he gets to know them more.

"I didn't say that I love him!"

"But the thought is there." The Caucasian counters, intrigued by Jeonghan's special person.

Knowing that he has no way out, Jeonghan just defeatedly nods and heaves a sigh before talking. "Fine. Yes, I—I like someone." He said shyly, a light blush tinted his cheeks.

"This is the first time I'm hearing this! How dare you, hyung! Who's he?"

Jeonghan's face fell. Wonwoo senses his shift in mood, and he knows that the question must have triggered something negative in Jeonghan. He was about to apologize, but was stopped by Jeonghan's barely audible voice.

"He's not like us. He doesn't accept our... kind." A sad smile painted Jeonghan's face.

Wonwoo's and Hansol's hearts sank. The two cannot help but to feel bad for their friend. They don't want to see Jeonghan be so dejected and hopeless. But at the same time, they don't know what to do. They looked at each other before hugging Jeonghan at the same time without saying anything. This made the latter to genuinely put on a smile.

"Aww, you two. Thank you."

The three let go of each other. Silence enveloped them until Jeonghan decides to break it.

"Don't worry about me too much, understand? This night is supposed to be fun! Let's discuss about this some other time. Let's go, the ball is waiting for us!"

This is probably the longest chapter of all the updates I posted so far. This is not supposed to be this long, but I managed to add some details to make the story smooth. But this is still quite a mess(?) just like my mind. Thank you for reading! xoxo

P.S. The next update may take a while because I am busy nowadays and I also have a lot of writing prompts that needed to be organized (along with my mind).